The #2 was one of the earliest “Warrington-Vulcan” single-acting hammers to be produced. The first one was S/N 6, made for the Marquette, Houghton and Ontonagon Railroad Company. The general arrangement for the hammer is above.
Specification Sheets for this hammer are as follows:
The #2 was very popular for a long time; however, it ran into two difficulties from the 1960’s onward.
The first was that pile specifications were calling for a larger hammer (such as the #1) and contractors found their #2 hammers sitting in the yard with little to do.
The second, from Vulcan’s standpoint, is that the production costs of the #2 were not much less than the #1. When Vulcan produced a #2 for the State of Tennessee in the early 1990’s, it simply took the #1 frame and put a 3,000 lb. ram in it. Since the stroke was longer, more energy was available.
Other information:
- McDermid Bases
- Serial Number Information for the Early #2 Hammers
- The #2 that lasted 120 years, and how it got spare parts to get back into action
A Vulcan #2 equipped with a McDermid Base being set up for a demonstration driving to be included in an episode of the History Channel, 2005. 
Vulcan #2 hammer driving wood piles in fixed leaders. 
Planned obsolescence was a foreign concept to Vulcan. This photo shows a #2, S/N 290, driving piles in October 2008 at Little Sugar Creek in Charlotte, NC. The hammer was built in 1905. Dellinger Incorporated was the contractor. Photos courtesy of Jim Davidson of Charlotte Mecklenberg Utilities.
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